Local pilot, 92, can't be grounded

Published: Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 3, 2013 at 9:19 p.m.

HENDERSONVILLE — Billy Welch pulled a picture frame off his wall Wednesday afternoon and stared at it quietly for a few seconds. In the picture, a young man is smiling at the camera as he climbs into the cockpit of a military plane.

The young face in the picture belonged to Welch, and although the photo was taken more than half a century ago, not much has changed. Welch, 92, passed his flight physical three weeks ago and has flown as recently as last week. The Lake Pointe Landing resident still flashes a big smile when he tells stories of his experiences in the cockpit.

Welch knew at an early age that he wanted to be a pilot. His father took him to an airfield for an air show when he was 5. As a wide-eyed child, he watched a woman step out onto an airplane wing and walk across it in mid-air.

His first real opportunity to fly, however, didn't come until the world was at war. Welch graduated high school in 1941 and six months later, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

"I graduated right into World War II," he said. "We were in a war whether we liked it or not."

Like many young men around him, Welch signed up to serve, but he had a plan that involved his childhood dream. He applied to be an aviation cadet in the Army Air Corps. After passing his flight physical, he reported to Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio.

He graduated flight school in May of 1943 and bounced around to a few different bases before boarding the Queen Elizabeth on his way to Bottisham, England. The base in England was a farm that had been converted into an airfield, and he trained there from November through January.

Welch began flying missions in 1944, mostly escorting B-17 bombers.

"Every day you would fly missions and you don't know if it's your last day on this earth," he said.

When Welch, who was a member of the 376th Fighter Squadron, arrived in England, the Battle of Britain was just ending. The country had undergone excessive bombing from the German Air Force, known as the Luftwaffe. The bombings had stopped, but Germany still was in control of the majority of continental Europe, Welch said.

"When you crossed the North Sea or the English Channel, you were in enemy territory," he added.

By the end of the war, Welch had logged more than 300 hours in the skies above Europe. He flew 83 combat missions and took part in one of the first three raids over Berlin.

Welch also took part in D-Day. On June 6, 1944, the United States and other Allied Forces led the largest military assault in history into France. On that day, Welch was in his plane.

"The weather was terrible that day," he said. It was so bad that the fighter pilots rose to elevations beyond the clouds at 27,000 feet, but didn't find any action above Normandy. There were no German fighter pilots.

"The weather was so bad, they couldn't fly," he said.

Also by this point in the war, Allied Forces had crippled supply lines and the Germans had little fuel, Welch said.

He spent his final three months in the war as a flight instructor, despite the fact that he'd never taught anyone to fly before. He was a "flyboy."

He returned stateside in November of 1944, anticipating a return to the fight because Japan had yet to surrender. But then President Harry Truman authorized atomic bombs to be dropped in Japan.

"We saved a lot of lives by not having to invade Japan," Welch said.

He went into reserve duty in the late 1950s, but joined back up as an enlisted man. He was ranked as a staff sergeant, but also maintained a rank as captain in the Reserves. When the Korean War began, he returned to active duty as a captain and trained pilots for war.

He has since served all over the world, including Japan during the height of the Cold War, manning planes armed with nuclear weapons with targets in Communist China if the Russians or Chinese made a move.

He finally retired from the military in 1963, when he "saw the handwriting on the wall." He saw that the United States was heading to war with Vietnam, and two years later, America was fully engaged in conflict with the Communists.

For his "retirement," Welch sold sand for the first four years and then taught people how to fly in Florida.

He married his wife, Mary Jean, in 1983 and the couple moved to Etowah in 1984. Mary Jean has her private and commercial licenses and the two have flown many miles together.

Mary Jean, a former school teacher and avid Florida Gators fan, doesn't fly anymore, but loved the time they spent in the open skies together. Sometimes she'd fly and Billy would navigate.

<p>HENDERSONVILLE — Billy Welch pulled a picture frame off his wall Wednesday afternoon and stared at it quietly for a few seconds. In the picture, a young man is smiling at the camera as he climbs into the cockpit of a military plane.</p><p>The young face in the picture belonged to Welch, and although the photo was taken more than half a century ago, not much has changed. Welch, 92, passed his flight physical three weeks ago and has flown as recently as last week. The Lake Pointe Landing resident still flashes a big smile when he tells stories of his experiences in the cockpit. </p><p>Welch knew at an early age that he wanted to be a pilot. His father took him to an airfield for an air show when he was 5. As a wide-eyed child, he watched a woman step out onto an airplane wing and walk across it in mid-air.</p><p>His first real opportunity to fly, however, didn't come until the world was at war. Welch graduated high school in 1941 and six months later, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.</p><p>"I graduated right into World War II," he said. "We were in a war whether we liked it or not."</p><p>Like many young men around him, Welch signed up to serve, but he had a plan that involved his childhood dream. He applied to be an aviation cadet in the Army Air Corps. After passing his flight physical, he reported to Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio.</p><p>He graduated flight school in May of 1943 and bounced around to a few different bases before boarding the Queen Elizabeth on his way to Bottisham, England. The base in England was a farm that had been converted into an airfield, and he trained there from November through January.</p><p>Welch began flying missions in 1944, mostly escorting B-17 bombers.</p><p>"Every day you would fly missions and you don't know if it's your last day on this earth," he said.</p><p>When Welch, who was a member of the 376th Fighter Squadron, arrived in England, the Battle of Britain was just ending. The country had undergone excessive bombing from the German Air Force, known as the Luftwaffe. The bombings had stopped, but Germany still was in control of the majority of continental Europe, Welch said.</p><p>"When you crossed the North Sea or the English Channel, you were in enemy territory," he added. </p><p>By the end of the war, Welch had logged more than 300 hours in the skies above Europe. He flew 83 combat missions and took part in one of the first three raids over Berlin.</p><p>Welch also took part in D-Day. On June 6, 1944, the United States and other Allied Forces led the largest military assault in history into France. On that day, Welch was in his plane. </p><p>"The weather was terrible that day," he said. It was so bad that the fighter pilots rose to elevations beyond the clouds at 27,000 feet, but didn't find any action above Normandy. There were no German fighter pilots.</p><p>"The weather was so bad, they couldn't fly," he said.</p><p>Also by this point in the war, Allied Forces had crippled supply lines and the Germans had little fuel, Welch said.</p><p>He spent his final three months in the war as a flight instructor, despite the fact that he'd never taught anyone to fly before. He was a "flyboy."</p><p>He returned stateside in November of 1944, anticipating a return to the fight because Japan had yet to surrender. But then President Harry Truman authorized atomic bombs to be dropped in Japan.</p><p>"We saved a lot of lives by not having to invade Japan," Welch said.</p><p>He went into reserve duty in the late 1950s, but joined back up as an enlisted man. He was ranked as a staff sergeant, but also maintained a rank as captain in the Reserves. When the Korean War began, he returned to active duty as a captain and trained pilots for war.</p><p>He has since served all over the world, including Japan during the height of the Cold War, manning planes armed with nuclear weapons with targets in Communist China if the Russians or Chinese made a move.</p><p>He finally retired from the military in 1963, when he "saw the handwriting on the wall." He saw that the United States was heading to war with Vietnam, and two years later, America was fully engaged in conflict with the Communists. </p><p>For his "retirement," Welch sold sand for the first four years and then taught people how to fly in Florida.</p><p>He married his wife, Mary Jean, in 1983 and the couple moved to Etowah in 1984. Mary Jean has her private and commercial licenses and the two have flown many miles together.</p><p>Mary Jean, a former school teacher and avid Florida Gators fan, doesn't fly anymore, but loved the time they spent in the open skies together. Sometimes she'd fly and Billy would navigate. </p><p>"We had an enjoyable and pleasant time flying together," she said.</p><p>Billy Welch can't imagine his life without flying. </p><p>"I fly because it's something I love to do," he said. "I love leaving the ground behind."</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>